Recreational fishing is such a leisurely activity that it tends to encourage the development of devices that permit the fisherman to practice this sport with a minimum of attention. Such equipment usually involves some form of support for the fishing pole, together with a signal system activated by a slight jerk on the fish line. In most cases the line is specially interengaged with the device. Ice fishing has generated the simplest form of these signal systems, which centers in a pivoted beam having a clip at one end for receiving the fish line, and a signal flag at the opposite end of the beam. A pull on the line simply rotates the beam and elevates the flag accordingly. In addition to these flag signals, some of the devices have made use of sound generators such as buzzers or bells, and lights have occasionally been used as well. Devices with electrical components have normally been battery-operated. Devices that have been based upon interengaging the line with some part of the mechanism tend to produce problems in retrieving the pole quickly enough to work the fish that has been caught. The present invention provides a simple foldable device along these general operating principles, and avoids many of the characteristics of previous devices that have tended to produce inconvenience in their use.